Turkey

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current involvement of the World Bank with Turkey; and how, in the light of its 1991 report The Challenge of Development and its 1997 framework for post-conflict reconstruction, it is approaching the following issues in Turkey: (a) demobilisation of conventional forces; (b) police training; (c) the needs of internally displaced people; (d) poverty reduction; and (e) the control of inflation.

Baroness Amos: We understand from the World Bank that its support to Turkey is focused on key structural and social reforms, in line with the bank's overall mission to reduce poverty and improve living standards. In conjunction with the IMF, the bank is supporting the Government of Turkey in implementing a three-year disinflation which aims to bring inflation below 10 per cent by the end of 2002 and restore economic growth. The World Bank is not involved in the demobilisation of conventional forces or in police training. It is not directly involved in meeting the needs of internally displaced people in Turkey. The bank provided substantial support to help Turkey deal with the aftermath of the Marmara earthquake. DfID does not have a bilateral programme in Turkey.

Chechnya

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they are taking to encourage appropriate international agencies to increase their support for refugees and displaced people in and from the Chechen Republic before the advent of winter; and what financial resources they will make available to support this work.

Baroness Amos: DfID has so far disbursed £2.4 million of humanitarian assistance through the United Nations Agencies and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help displaced people in the North Caucasus. We have recently committed a further £0.5 million to the ICRC for the coming winter, and expect to make further contributions to the UN Consolidated Appeal, which runs until 31 December 2000. I will be pleased to write to my noble friend with details of this contribution when it is finalised. This direct assistance is in addition to the UK's 16 per cent share of the activities of the European Commission Humanitarian Office.

Child Poverty

Earl Russell: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish a breakdown of how they arrived at their estimate that "based on a threshold of 60 per cent of median income, after housing costs, there will be a total of 1.2 million children in households lifted out of poverty as a result of measures announced this Parliament" (H.C. Deb., 8 June, col. 383W); and
	What changes in levels of employment have been assumed in the calculation that 1.2 million children will be lifted out of poverty; and
	What changes in levels of earnings have been assumed in the calculation that 1.2 million children will be lifted out of poverty; and
	What effect on child poverty has been attributed to each of their measures individually; and
	What part of the expected reduction of child poverty is attributed to parents entering work as a result of government measures; and how much effect is attributed to which measures; and
	In calculating reduction in child poverty through the effects of parents entering work, what allowance they have made for the effects of substitution.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The 1.2 million children lifted out of poverty is an estimate, using the Treasury's tax benefit simulation model, of the impact of the measures announced during this Parliament. It is not a forecast of the change in the number of children living in low income families over the Parliament.
	The estimate encompasses the income effect of the measures, with one exception. A small adjustment has been made to allow for increases in employment amongst lone parents, which have already been seen since 1997. Other than this, for the purposes of this estimate, no account has been taken of the possible impact of the tax and benefit measures on earnings or employment.
	The impact of each of the key measures on families' incomes is shown in Box 5.1 on page 86 of the March 2000 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report. This shows that changes in the working families' tax credit and income-related benefits have the biggest impact in the lower deciles of the income distribution.
	While it is not possible to break down the impact of the individual measures on child poverty, it is possible to provide some detail on the types of household affected. The estimates suggest that of the 1.2 million children lifted out of poverty, around one-third are in lone parent families and about two-thirds in families with someone in employment.

Ministry of Defence: University Careers Fairs

Lord Rogan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which universities in the United Kingdom refuse access to their facilities for Ministry of Defence-related activities.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Information on the broad range of Ministry of Defence-related activities is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, we are not aware of access being denied to personnel of the three Services' recruiting organisations who take part, with other would-be employers of high calibre staff, in careers fairs organised by the universities.

Chinook Helicopter Accident

Lord Jacobs: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they believe that the pilots in the Chinook crash in June 1994 were aware (a) that they were headed directly for the Mull at a height of about 400 feet and (b) that they needed to climb to a height of 2,400 feet if they were to overfly the Mull safely.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: At 0.95 nautical miles, or about 20 seconds before impact, the crew released the on-board navigational computer from its fix on the Mull of Kintyre. At that point the pilots knew how close to the Mull they were. At 15 to 18 seconds before impact, the aircraft's height was only 468 feet as recorded on the tactical air navigation system. The pilots would have seen the same information on their radar altimeter, but even so at that point the aircraft was still climbing only gently.
	Evidence from the pilots' pre-flight planning shows they were fully aware of the safety altitude required for each leg of the route under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). If the pilots' intention was to overfly the Mull through cloud, under IFR, they should have established flight at least 1,000 ft above the height of the Mull. This is why the Board of Inquiry concluded that the selection of an inappropriate rate of climb to overfly the Mull safely was the most probable cause of the accident.

Services Cotswold Centre

Baroness Park of Monmouth: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 21 March (WA 19) on the future of the Services Cotswold Centre, what is the present position; and, if the centre has been closed: (a) what alternative arrangements have been made; and (b) what savings were made as a result of the closure.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Her Majesty's Government reaffirm their high regard for the work of the Services Cotswold Centre on behalf of Army families. However, the centre remains under-utilised and is now the subject of an investment appraisal which will examine whether a solution exists which offers better value for money. This exercise should be complete by early December and will form the basis of a decision on the future of the centre by Her Majesty's Government. For the time being, the centre remains open and continues to provide temporary accommodation for Service families. I will write further to the noble Baroness once the position is clear, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Wrecks

Lord Onslow of Woking: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many of the 371 charted wrecks of HM ships in United Kingdom coastal waters are known or believed to contain human remains; and what steps are taken to protect such wrecks.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Officials are seeking to establish this information and a review of policy on wrecked military vessels is also being undertaken. I will write to the noble Lord when this work is complete, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Wrecks

Lord Onslow of Woking: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many wrecks of merchant ships co-opted into military service have been charted in United Kingdom waters; and how many of these are known or believed to contain human remains.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The information requested by the noble Lord is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Civil Emergency Deployment of Armed Forces

Lord Mason of Barnsley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What criteria are used to call out the Armed Forces to protect property and persons and the security of the State; and whether the same criteria have been used in every instance since 1945.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Armed Forces carry out a wide range of activities in support of the community and the civil authorities, and provide help at times of civil emergency. In relation to the purposes described in the Question, they would be deployed in support of the civil authorities only where their aid was considered by the Government to be essential for the achievement of those purposes. Information on whether different criteria have been in operation at any time since 1945 is not readily available.

Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987: Fines

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are, for the last five years and for each of air, sea or Channel Tunnel carriers, the values of penalties imposed for contravening the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987, and the value of fines outstanding.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The table shows (in £ million), on an annual basis from 1995 onwards, details of:
	the total cumulative value, as at the end of each year shown, of all charge demands served from inception under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987;
	the annual total value of all charge demands served during the year; and
	the total value of all charges outstanding at the end of each year.
	The figures relate to the totals for all carriers. I am unable to disclose details of charges incurred or owed by individual carriers, for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
	
		
			  1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Jan-Sep 2000 
			 Cumulative 88.1 100.5 112.7 125.6 137.0 145.1 
			 Annual 12.4 12.4 12.3 12.8 11.5 8.1 
			 O/S 18.7 15.1 11.4 10.7 7.3 7.1

Roma: Anti-discrimination Measures

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 3 October (WA 212), whether they consider that the bringing into force of Protocol No 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights would assist the Roma in protecting them against racial discrimination across Europe in those countries which have ratified the Protocol; and, if not, what are their reasons.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Protocol 12 will be open for signature in Rome on 4 November. The extent of protection of Roma, over and above that already conferred by Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and any other domestic legislation and practice, will depend on how the authorities in those countries, and ultimately the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, interpret the Protocol. The measures taken by this Government to protect the Roma were summarised in the Answer I gave the noble Lord on 3 October (Official Report WA 212).

Shotguns and Criminal Offences

Lord Brougham and Vaux: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many criminal offences have been committed with legally held shotguns in each of the last five years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Complete figures are not available to show how many offences in which shotguns were used involved legally or illegally held shotguns.
	Figures are available, however, for offences of homicide involving shotguns recorded by the police in England and Wales for the years from 1994 to 1998. The total figures are as follows:
	
		Homicides with shotguns
		
			  Total number Shotgun legally held/certificate not required 
			 1994 36 7 
			 1995 28 6 
			 1996 17 4 
			 1997 16 1 
			 1998 10 1 
		
	
	The table details the number of criminal offences committed in Scotland with shotguns held legally and illegally in each of the years from 1995 to 1999. Information has also been provided on the number of criminal offences committed with a shotgun where it was not possible to determine whether or not the weapon was legally held, either because no accused was identified or because the weapon was not recovered.
	
		Number of criminal offences committed with shotguns, Scotland, 1995-99
		
			  Legally held shotgun Illegally held shotgun Legal possession of shotgun not determined (1) 
			 1995 24 66 50 
			 1996 2 46 43 
			 1997 15 16 33 
			 1998 5 21 16 
			 1999 9 20 26 
		
	
	(1) No accused identified or accused identified but shotgun not recovered.
	Figures for Northern Ireland on whether firearms used in offences were legally or illegally held are not available.

Shotguns and Criminal Offences

Lord Brougham and Vaux: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many legally held shotguns have been reported as stolen and then subsequently used in criminal offences in each of the last five years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: This information is not collected centrally. The number of shotguns stolen in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		Shotguns stolen
		
			  England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
			 1995 728 35 50 
			 1996 624 23 71 
			 1997 539 15 79 
			 1998(2) 524 10 101 
			 1999(3) 395 17 82 
		
	
	(2) 1997-98 for England and Wales.
	(3) 1998-99 for England and Wales.

Firearms Consultative Committee

Lord Brougham and Vaux: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What decision, if any, they have made as to the recommendations they will make for subjects for inclusion in the "Working Agenda" of the Firearms Consultative Committee due to report to Parliament in July 2001.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government intend to write to the Firearms Consultative Committee shortly to seek its views on a number of issues, in particular those arising from the Second Report of the Home Affairs Committee on Controls over Firearms.

Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999: Fee Recovery

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why fees being collected by the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Benefits Agency on behalf of National Health Service hospitals are currently running at an annualised rate of some £70 million when, under the regulatory appraisal for the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999, it was anticipated that fees collected would amount to £123 million to £165 million per annum.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The regulatory appraisal which accompanied the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 included an annex explaining how potential income from the new scheme had been calculated. The appraisal made clear that, in order to make the necessary calculations, a number of estimates had to be made based on data from a variety of sources.
	Income has not reached the suggested levels largely because fewer than expected people have had NHS treatment following a road traffic accident and have gone on to make a successful claim for personal injury.
	There may be other factors which need to be taken into account but it is still too early in the life of the new scheme to compare a comprehensive year's data from the scheme with our opening forecasts.

Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999: Fee Recovery

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What has been the cost of collecting fees paid to National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 expressed as a percentage of fees collected (a) during the year ended 5 April 2000 and (b) since April 2000; and whether they consider these percentages to be satisfactory; and
	Whether they consider the performance of the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Benefits Agency in collecting fees for National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 to be satisfactory; and
	What was the full cost of collection of fees paid to National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 during its first year of implementation, including, if applicable, any capital charges; and what are the budgeted outturn figures for these costs during the second year.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: From 5 April 1999 a new system of centralised collection of National Health Service charges following road traffic accidents was introduced. The system is administered by the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), a part of the Benefits Agency, on behalf of the Department of Health.
	In the first year of operation, the full cost of the new system to the Department of Health was £1.2 million, including capital charges such as the costs of a new computer system. In that year, CRU collected and distributed £26 million to English NHS trusts. In the start-up year, the cost of collection was therefore 4.7 per cent of the amounts collected.
	Six months into the second year of operation, CRU has collected and distributed £30 million to NHS trusts in England, suggesting that a full year figure of at least £60 million is possible. We have budgeted for costs of £1.06 million in the current year, which, if £60 million is achieved, would mean collection costs would be 1.8 per cent of the total amounts recovered.
	The performance of CRU, after some initial difficulties associated with the introduction of a new IT system, and the cost of collection expressed as a percentage of income collected, are fully acceptable to the Department of Health. The new scheme has dramatically increased the amounts being recovered and this money is already available to NHS trusts to improve patient care.

Passive Smoking Danger to Children

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any specific proposals to highlight the dangers of passive smoking for children over 10.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government's three-year, £100 million tobacco control programme is aimed at helping smokers to give up and non-smokers not to start. The fewer people smoke--in particular parents--the less likely it is that children will be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. The current programme of tobacco education will continue to emphasise the dangers smokers pose to those around them and in particular the responsibility of parents in this area.
	The Government have supported the introduction of the hospitality industry's Public Places Charter, which is aimed at improving facilities for non-smokers in hotels, pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues.
	One of the statutory health warnings on cigarette packets is "Protect children: don't make them breathe your smoke". The United Kingdom has supported plans at a European level to increase the size of health warnings on tobacco products to increase their impact on smokers.

Crawley Hospital

Lord Ezra: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 4 August, why a decision has been reached to reduce essential services at Crawley Hospital in advance of recommendations from the working group being set up by the South East Regional Office of the National Health Service to consider the long-term provision of acute primary and intermediate care services, having regard to the effect of long-term population growth in the area.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: I regret that there was an error in the first paragraph of my previous reply (Official Report, 27 September, at col. WA 189). The first paragraph of the reply should have referred to East Surrey and West Sussex Health Authorities rather than West Surrey and West Sussex Health Authorities.
	The South East Regional Office of the National Health Services Executive is setting up a working group to consider the long-term provision of services by the East Surrey and West Sussex Health Authorities. The decision, announced by Ministers on 26 June, was made to ensure that the services currently provided, and those to be provided for the next 15-20 years to local residents, are safe, modern, effective and sustainable. The decision could therefore not await the recommendations of the working group.
	The issue of population growth was carefully considered by East Surrey and West Sussex Health Authorities before they issued their proposals on the future configuration of acute services at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare National Health Service Trust and will also be taken into account by the working group.

Environment Council, 12 October

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the outcome of the Environment Council on 12 October.

Lord Whitty: My right honourable friend the Minister for the Environment represented the UK at the Environment Council in Luxembourg on 10 October 2000. This was the first Environment Council under the French Presidency. One common position and two sets of Council conclusions were agreed, and a public orientation debate was held on a proposed environmental noise directive.
	Agreement was reached on a Daughter Directive under the Air Quality Framework Directive to set target values and long-term objectives for ground-level ozone, to protect human health and the environment. By 2010, member states will have to attain as far as possible ground-level air ozone concentrations that do not exceed 120 microgrammes per cubic metre on more than 25 days per annum. Some flexibility will be allowed in recognition of the difficulty of reducing ozone formation. The agreement reached is based on the World Health Organisation guideline values and a closely related EC proposal setting national emissions ceilings for ozone precursor pollutants. The directive also lays down monitoring requirements and provides for dissemination of information to the public.
	Council conclusions were agreed on common and co-ordinated policies and measures which could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to ensure that the EU and its member states meet their Kyoto targets. These build on previous Council conclusions, and give guidance to the Commission, and the work of the European Climate Change Programme, on priority areas for action, including transport, renewable energy, combined heat and power, the elimination of environmentally damaging subsides, and economic instruments. The Presidency also reported the outcome of the Lyons subsidiary bodies' meeting on climate change in October. An extraordinary Environment Council on 7 November 2000 will prepare for the forthcoming sixth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP6), taking place between 13-24 November 2000.
	The Presidency gave a progress report on global environmental governance, and a short set of procedural Council conclusions were agreed. Ministers agreed that further consideration of options for improving the existing institutional arrangements was needed and that financing was a central issue. My right honourable friend stressed the importance of a step by step approach, and the need to secure developing countries' commitment to change. The Presidency plans to develop conclusions for adoption at the December Environment Council to guide EU involvement at UNEP's Administrative Council in February and the build-up to Rio + 10.
	A public orientation debate was held on a proposed directive to establish common methods for measuring and assessing environmental noise, in order to collate and map comprehensive information about noise exposure levels across the EU. Ministers recognised the significance of noise as a health and quality of life issue and broadly welcomed the proposal, which would enable accurate comparisons of noise levels in all member states to be made. In noting the importance of taking action to reduce noise levels, most commented that plans were already provided for at the national or local level and stressed the importance of local solutions. The Presidency indicated that it intends to reach a common position on this proposal at the December Environment Council.
	The Presidency gave progress reports on two related directives which aim to increase re-use, recovery and recycling rates of waste from, and limit the use of certain hazardous substances in, electrical and electronic equipment. The Presidency aims to reach common position in December, subject to the European Parliament delivering its opinion before then. The Commission updated Council on the development of its planned proposals on the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are expected later this year.
	There were a large number of any other business items. Ministers agreed to consider Council conclusions at the extraordinary Environment Council in November setting out the EU position on the revision to the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Germany proposed that the European Commission should prepare for the early transposition into Community law of the International Maritime Organisation global ban on organotins in marine anti-fouling paints, and the Commission should also submit proposals for extending restrictions on the marketing and use of organotins in a range of consumer goods, such as textiles. They also called for prohibition on the use of the azo-dye Navy Blue. The Austrian delegation reminded Council of its concerns about the Temelin nuclear power station in the Czech Republic; the Italian delegation called for a joint Environment/Transport Council to resolve measures to tighten rules on oil tanker safety; and the Finnish delegation outlined its environmental concerns about the construction of a new oil terminal at Primorsk in Russia.
	The Presidency updated Council on a proposed resolution on the Precautionary Principle, to be submitted to the Nice European Council in December, and on preparations for the Intergovernmental Conference for the Cartagena Protocol in Biosafety, also taking place in December. The Presidency indicated plans for further ministerial debate on the Commission's White Paper on environmental liability in December.
	Other items included Commission progress reports on revised guidelines on state aids and the environment and the introduction of environmental requirements into public procurement guidelines. The Commission also briefly presented its Green Paper on the environmental issues of PVC, its Communication on water pricing policy, and its Communication on integrated coastal zone management.

Millennium Dome Site Contamination Liability

Lord Dixon-Smith: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, when the Millennium Dome is disposed of, the site will have been sufficiently cleared of contamination so that no liability for decontamination will fall on the purchaser as a result of contamination dating from before the site's disposal.

Lord Whitty: English Partnerships and British Gas remediated the Dome site to meet the statutory obligations of the landowner and to prepare the site for its current use. The purchaser of the site would only inherit liability for site contamination to the limited extent imposed by statute and common law and the final commercial terms negotiated for the sale.

Imported Organic Food Products

Lord Brabazon of Tara: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the remarks by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 9 October (H.L. Deb., col. 9), whether imported food labelled as organic and not coming from a European Union country, or from one of the six countries approved by the European Union for organic food production standards, has to fulfil any qualifications or any form of verification to be allowed to be so labelled in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Hayman: Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 provides that, in the case of products from such countries, importers may make an application to the competent authority in the member state concerned, providing evidence (standards, control manuals etc) to show that standards and control measures equivalent to those set out in the regulation have been applied in the country of origin. Products can only be imported for sale as organic if an authorisation has been granted. The UK Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) undertakes this function in the UK.

Business Advice to SMEs

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the light of the recent MORI survey conducted for Compaq, they consider that their delivery of advice to small and medium-sized enterprises, via initiatives such as the Information Society Initiative Programme for Business and the Small Business Service, is performing adequately.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Government are committed to ensuring that all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have access to world-class business support and advice.
	I am satisfied that timely, good quality business advice is already being made available through the network of Business Links. The establishment of the Small Business Service and the launch of a new network from April 2001 will see further improvements via a single gateway to a comprehensive network of business support organisations, initiatives and information from the public, private and voluntary sectors, making extensive use of Internet and call centre technology.
	Five thousand, three hundred and eighty-five businesses were assisted by UK Online for Business Advisers (formerly Information Society Initiative Centres) between April and June 2000, according to SBS Performance Information figures for that quarter. The recently published International Benchmarking Study 2000, Business in the Information Age, found that in the UK, 81 per cent of businesses are now online, compared with 63 per cent last year. The Government's target of having 1.5 million SMEs wired up to the digital marketplace by 2002 has been exceeded, with 1.7 million SMEs already connected.

UK/Taiwan Links

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to improve relationships between the United Kingdom and Taiwan.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: The British Government are keen to develop their economic, cultural and social links with Taiwan. Although, for reasons that are well known, we do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we continue actively to develop a substantial unofficial relationship in the fields of trade, investment, culture, education and science and technology. Taiwan is listed as a target market by Trade Partners UK. In support of British commercial interests, the Ministers for Trade and for E-Commerce and the Lord Mayor of London have made private visits to Taiwan this year and the Mayor of Taipei has recently visited London.

Taiwan Passport Holders: UK Visas

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many Taiwan passport holders have been refused visas to enter the United Kingdom in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000 to the latest convenient date.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: None.

Taiwan Passport Holders: UK Visas

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What reasons were given for the refusal of visas to Taiwan passport holders to enter the United Kingdom in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000 to the latest convenient date.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: I refer to my earlier Answer (HL4022), which also addresses this Question.

Taipei Representative Office, London

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will review the diplomatic status of the staff of the Taipei Representative Office in London, with a view to according them tax and legal treatment similar to that enjoyed by the United Kingdom diplomatic staff in Taipei.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: We do not recognise Taiwan as a state and therefore do not maintain diplomatic relations. In accordance with this position, neither the staff of the Taipei Representative Office in London nor their counterparts in the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei have diplomatic status. The tax and legal status of the staff of the Taipei Representative Office in London have been reviewed on a number of occasions. However, because of the constraints imposed by the special position of the Taipei Representative Office, it has not so far proved possible under UK law to find a way to accord staff working in the office tax and employment concessions comparable to those enjoyed by the UK staff of the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei.